The Runaway Quilt — Jennifer Chiaverini

In this fourth novel in the beloved Elm Creek Quilts series, Sylvia Compson searches for evidence of her ancestors' courageous involvement in the Underground Railroad.

Alerted that her family may have had ties to the slaveholding South, Sylvia searches her attic for her great-grandmother's quilt, a log cabin with black central squares that, according to legend, was a sign of sanctuary to escaping slaves. She also discovers the memoir of her great-grandfather's spinster sister, Gerda Bergstrom.

Gerda's record of the tumultuous years between 1853 and 1859 reveals not only the founding of Elm Creek Manor, but also a Pennsylvania farming community divided by the issue of slavery. As Sylvia stitches together the disparate pieces of her past, she uncovers family discord, betrayal, and a long-held secret. With the help of the Elm Creek Quilters and the clues in her ancestors' quilts, Sylvia grapples with hard truths in coming to terms with her family's past.